We often think of mindfulness of just being still and breathing. However, our mindfulness practice can spill over into other activities throughout our day, like brushing our teeth, driving the car or cooking the dinner. We can improve our mindfulness in all of these areas by adding some mindful movement into our day.
Connecting the body and breath through movement is a powerful way to bring about focus and anchor us into the present moment. Moving your body can be a welcome distraction from what’s going on in our minds, and can also be used a reset between activities in the same way a simple sixty-second breath meditation can be.
Mindfully moving for five or ten minutes a day (or more if you have the time) ultimately teaches us to be mindful while we are on the go during our daily life.
Sitting still can be hard for some people and sitting still can often hard on days when you know you’ve got many things to do.
If you have a day where your mind is especially busy, this is an effective way of practising mindfulness without having to sit to do your formal practice.
It doesn’t have to be strenuous or hard; in fact, gentle movements that are achievable are favourable as the intent behind the practise is to stay focused. When exercise is challenging, it becomes more about success rather than the moment. Our focus can get lost as we tend to cling to an outcome instead of being present and feeling our way through. Mindful movement is a great way to check-in at the beginning of the day, so you know where you’re at on a physical level.
Start with just five minutes of mindful movement in the morning before your formal sitting practice as a way of “dropping in” quicker or, on its own as a way to bring about focus and ease for the rest of your day.
Take my free mindful movement class here
